BABY FOR MY HONEY

HER LIFE

CHAPTER 7

“Hi miss, good morning,” Divina greeted as I approached my office.

Her cubicle was opposite mine so that she could see me or anyone approaching.

“Follow me inside, Divina,” I requested as I reached her side.

Entering my office and placing my bag on top of my desk, I started, “First, I want you to file my leave of absence for Thursday and Friday next week.”

I didn’t have to tell her the purpose, and she knew what to place in the slip– for personal matters. She didn’t know about Devlin, but just the same, for a year now, she knew my leave requests had always been like that.

“Sure, miss, I will also move all your appointments during that period. Would you like it before your leave or after your leave?”

“Before. I don’t care if you stretch my days. Just make sure I will still have enough hours to sleep.”

I couldn’t be bothered with work during my absence, and Divina knew about that. The first time I asked her to file for my leave, I told her unless the building was on fire, she couldn’t disturb me with matters about work, and it had stuck to her brain. She never bothered me with office affairs.

“Okay, miss!”

“Secondly, I would like you to assign the McGregor account to Annie, with full authority. I don't want to have anything to do with that account, and I will tell her personally, too,” I ordered.

“Why?”

The voice we heard made both Divina and I turned our eyes to the man who entered my room. The door was left open. I figured, he welcomed himself inside.

“Excuse us, Annie,” I looked at her and silently informed her I could handle the matter with Jeffrey McGregor.

“Yes, miss,” anxiously, Divina stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her.

“Hello, Jeffrey,” I murmured, standing straight before him.

His lips curled into a smug grin, “I love the way my name came out from your luscious lips,”

“You are so early. What air blew you in the direction of my office?--I don’t remember having your name on my appointment list.” I asked sarcastically.

No matter if he was the agency's most important client, he didn’t have the right to barge into my space without permission.

“The thoughts of you carried me here, I guess?” he murmured, disregarding my obvious sarcasm.

I shook my head repeatedly. What did I do to deserve his attention? It was something I could do without.

“Okay. Let’s sort out your obsession. What do you need from me, Mr. McGregor?” I asked dryly without humor. I also raised a brow.

“Have dinner with me?”

“Did anyone teach you anything about the word–NO?” I frowned. Jeffrey just ruined my morning, damnn!

He chuckled in triumph.

“Unless it's me saying NO, I hardly recognize the word. That said, I will continue asking until you say…YES!” he smiled smugly. “See you soon, Sairah,” he turned and left the room, leaving his solid manly scent inside my office.

Did he drop by to ruin my day? I breathed hard to contain my annoyance.

“Divina–” called her with a slightly raised tone.

“Yes, miss–” she peeped through the door.

“What the hell was Jeffrey doing here, this early?”

“Oh–last Friday, he made arrangements to meet with the team, and they have an appointment set at 9:30 in the morning,” she informed me. No wonder he was here at 9:15 am. Damn that pest.

I was not like this with clients; I seldom see red with others, even if they were pressing beyond allowable. But– Jeffrey–he made my blood sizzle, and I wasn’t sure if it was due to his relentlessness or there was something in him that I couldn’t stomach.

I sighed, shaking my head—what a way to start my week!

“Let’s forget about him. Back to my third order before we were rudely interrupted,” I sat in the chair and opened my laptop.

“Divina, I am forwarding the email of 30 under 30 to you. Please refuse the invitation for my interview. I won’t be here for that.” It was scheduled for next Friday, and I’d be in LA; there was no way I could split myself in half to be at two places at the same time.

“Miss?!” Divina was shocked. She couldn’t believe perhaps that I was declining a prestigious invitation like that. But it came into conflict with my trip to LA; besides the roaster of candidates, I doubt they could include me in the list of 30 winners, and it would be a waste of my time.

“Divina. You have anything to ask?” I squinted my eyes while I looked at her.

“Miss–Isn’t it a rewarding experience just to be included in the shortlist of 100 candidates? Don’t you want–”

I cut her off.

“Yeah, I know, even a nomination is already a significant reward, but–they had not given our industry priority in the past, nothing changed drastically. I don’t think I stand a chance. Aside from that, I have an important appointment in conflict with the interview date; thus, I choose to let go.”

As I said, I would give up anything for Devlin, except for my weekends, because those were reserved for DJ.

“Would you like me to ask if there’s another schedule instead?”

Her feeling of regret for me, losing the opportunity, radiated in her tone, and she stared at me expectantly. I know this lady cares.

“Divina, it's a tough competition, and I’m sure there are more deserving candidates than me.”

“Miss– the success of your charity projects is hard to ignore.” She tried to reason, but–I made up my mind.

I gave her a calm smile.

“I’ve decided, Divina. It's not for me. The charity projects were alright, but they were not created expecting any return or gratification. I also didn’t know why I was shortlisted.”

“O-okay, miss.” Divina was sad. But–between Devlin and this recognition, I’d choose him without a second thought.

“Now, can you please get Annie for me?”

She nodded.

“Sure, miss, and I revised your schedule. I moved Herena to 5:30 pm today to free up some slots for next week.”

“No problem,” I agreed. Divina knew how to arrange my schedule better, and I never had problems since she was assigned as my secretary. She was efficient in dealing with my affairs and definitely...she cares.

A few minutes after Divina stepped out of my office, Annie knocked and entered the room.

“Hi!” She greeted me enthusiastically. It was only yesterday we were together at DJ’s party, but my concern was about work, and I never discussed work with her outside of the four corners of the room.

“Two things. One, I am assigning McGregor's account to you, full authority, and that’s synonymous with, don't involve me in anything regarding that account.”

“Hah–I think I know why.” Annie giggled. “But– you cannot avoid the man forever, and he will find ways to bug you,” she made me aware.

I scoffed, “Handle him, please. I can’t stand the man–”

She cut me off.

“And no matter how I addressed his every concern, he will come to see you. Why not agree to his dinner invitation once and for all?” she proposed.

“Because–” I replied open-ended. I mean, for many reasons that didn’t deserve mentioning.

“Don’t say I didn't give you a fair warning,” she chuckled in glee.

I rolled my eyes. I knew she understood me; she knew me better than anyone.

“Two. I will be flying to LA next Thursday, and please take care of concerns here in the office. I will instruct Divina to refer to you, anything and everything,” I advised. No one here could help me better than Annie.

“LA? Are you going to meet Devlin?” She asked, a bit confused. I couldn’t blame her. It was the first time I’d be flying to LA to meet Devlin.

“Yes–” I let out. I have no intention of keeping it from her.

“Oh my, is he getting tired of coming here?” She furrowed her brows.

“Nah–nothing like that. He can’t travel because of a new partnership, and he can’t afford to lose two to three days during weekdays. You know the conditions of my weekends, and I can’t give it up, even for him.” I disclosed.

“Can you finally end your waiting game? Talk to him and tell him everything--” she muttered, intensely frustrated. “--Heavens Sai, it's been a year since you’ve been doing this charade. Aren’t you two getting tired?” she burst out—her disappointment written on her face.

“I know, Annie, but each time I attempt to talk to him, words won’t come out of my mouth. He is not an easy person to talk with,” I explained.

“He was not like that–” she eyed me frustratedly.

“Yeah! Until I broke him,” I murmured the truth.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Sai.” she advised.

“If I could just undo everything,” I breathed hard.

“Okay. You need new tricks.”

“New tricks?”

“Yeah, yeah. Here goes, make the man snap out of the wall of ice he built around himself.”

“Okay–how will I do that?”

“Have you watched Pretty Woman? The old film of Julia Roberts and what’s his name–hmm. Richard Gere? Yeah! That gorgeous actor.”

“So–” I didn’t know about the significance of the film, but I listened.

“Have you watched it or not?”

“I think I did, but I can’t remember,” I giggled.

“Goodness! Anyway, there’s a scene where Julia waits for Richard, wearing nothing but a tie. Do that–.”

“Jesus!” I gawked at her. For heaven's sake, it was an old film, “Can you be more current in your reference?”

Annie laughed, “I know it will work. Look sexy when he enters the room. Seduce him!”

“What’s the significance of seducing him?” Goodness, why do I need to seduce him? Well, in fact, I was already fvcking him.

“Melting the ice around him, so you can finally talk.” She gave me a look that could kill, “How did you become so slow?”

I swallowed the saliva inside my throat. The hell! Would seducing him to such an extent work?

“Desperate times require a desperate approach. Sairah, you have nothing to lose. If the man still wants you, instead of wasting time waiting for his head to cool down. Why not try the opposite?”

“Opposite?” I echoed.

“Yes, set him on fire.”

I stared at her stupidly.

She added, “Instead of being a passive recipient, be the aggressor. You started it when you decided to go to LA to meet him. Now make this visit worthwhile. Do something he can’t forget.”

I shook my head, “I am not sure–”

She inserted and said in a serious and monotonous tone, “Sai–one day Devlin will get tired of this childish game you play. Act now. You are not getting any younger, and you are both wasting precious time. You might be right believing he hated you, but– what if he is waiting for you to make a move?”

I shrugged my shoulders, “Your suggestion is preposterous. I’m not capable of doing it. Devlin might not like it.”

She blew out some air, “When it comes to Devlin, you seem to forget who and what you are,” Annie paused, shaking her head. She flicked her tongue, “Tssk–Sairah, you are out of the ordinary. Don’t give up on yourself.” She said with sincerity.

“Am I not lowering myself more?”

“Enough of your worries, Sai. Think of DJ, even if you beg for your life, right?--for my godson.”

Annie added, “And if Devlin doesn’t want you anymore…move on. Don’t let one man ruin your life forever. You deserve to be happy, Sai, really happy. If Devlin can’t forget what you did, agree to the divorce. You have us–we will be here for you,” Annie concluded.